General Dynamics closing Anteon deal

Defense contractor to buy back 10 million more shares

By

AugustCole

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- General Dynamics Corp., which makes ships for the U.S. Navy and tanks for the Army, announced Wednesday its $2.2 billion acquisition of government IT and services firm Anteon International is set to close Thursday.

The deal, which was announced in December 2005, had been delayed by antitrust regulators seeking more information on the deal.

Anteon
ANT, -0.02%
had said in April that it expected the deal to close by June 30. The closing will wrap up Anteon's stint as a public company after its debut in March 2002.

The acquisition is an important one for General Dynamics to expand its business beyond traditional Cold War military hardware and into services for both the civilian government and military markets. Anteon also has workers with government-security clearances, which are in demand as more government work at home and abroad shifts to the private sector.

General Dynamics
GD, +0.99%
also announced after the bell a stock buyback of 10 million shares, or 2.5% of the almost 404 million shares outstanding.

The Falls Church, Va.-based company said that its previous buyback has almost finished.

General Dynamics said that it has bought back 16 million shares since January 2003, according to a statement.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.